DH has become ultimate closer
David Ortiz was the last person to speak on his behalf in the Red Sox clubhouse after his winning single in the 14th capped a 10-pitch at-bat against Esteban Loaiza scored Johnny Damon to give Boston a 5-4 victory over the Yankees last night in Game 5 of the ALCS.
Ortiz, who went 3 for 6, probably didn't need to say a word. Superlatives were flying all over the place. It felt like a champagne celebration sans the champagne.
"It was unbelievable," said Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler. "It was Jordan-esque. It was remarkable, unparalleled, unrivaled. How many walkoff hits as he had? Look at the situation he was in. It's absolutely remarkable."
Consider that Ortiz won Game 4 with a walkoff home run. Consider he had hit a solo shot in the eighth inning to pull the Sox within 4-3 last night. He had fouled off five Loaiza pitches, and the Yankee hurler was throwing bullets.
"That's one of the best at-bats I've ever seen. Loaiza was throwing nuclear stuff," said Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who watched all 14 innings from his seat in the stands. "Ortiz is just fearless up there. Nothing makes him nervous. No situation is bigger. I don't know if there's a player in this league you'd rather have up there in that situation."
While Epstein looks like Einstein for signing Ortiz after he was cut loose by the Minnesota Twins, even he would say that he never expected an MVP-like player to emerge.
"We knew he was a hitter who had tremendous upside, but he's far exceeded what we projected for him," Epstein said. "When we got him last year we screwed things up for a month or so before we had a chance to get him in there full time."
Doug Mientkiewicz called Ortiz "a freak of nature." The first baseman believes Ortiz's feats are "Impossible to do over and over again, night after night . . . he almost hit a home run around Pesky's Pole. This game is not that easy, but there are some nights he makes it look easy."
Ortiz showered and quietly took his time packing for the trip to New York.
"We have to get something going against the Yankees," said Ortiz. "We had to get something going. We were one loss away from going home for good. We couldn't let it end that way at home in front of our fans like that."
Of Loaiza's offerings, Ortiz said, "He made some unbelievable pitches. I didn't know if they were balls or strikes, so I swung because I knew they were close. I was just happy to get my bat on the ball and foul those off. I'm just glad I was able to get the ball into the outfield and get the run home."
Ortiz has emerged as the fan favorite in Boston. There were signs all over Fenway in praise of "Papi." If the Red Sox were ever able to come back and take this series, there would be no question that Ortiz would be the MVP. He's hitting .478 with two homers and 9 RBIs.
Overlooked during the euphoria was the fact that Ortiz was caught stealing in the 12th, his first attempted theft since joining the Sox.
Ortiz said there was a hit-and-run on with Mientkiewicz up, but signals were crossed and Ortiz was out there by himself. Replays showed Ortiz got his hand on the base before Derek Jeter's sweeping tag.
"I thought I was safe," Ortiz said. "What did you think? Once the hit-and-run didn't work, I tried to tag the back of the bag and got in. I thought I got in."
Ortiz knows he can't contribute with his glove right now, so he's happy providing the offense.
"I don't play the field so I can sit in the dugout and study the pitchers," Ortiz said. "That's the one thing I can do. It's important for me to do my job."
Right now, nobody is doing it better.
